New $99 Gear VR will work with all 2015 Samsung phones

Samsung has announced a new version of its Oculus-powered Gear VR headset will arrive later this year.

The latest edition of the virtual reality headset will cost just $99, half as much as the previous iterations, when it arrives in November.

Better still, it isn’t limited to particular smartphone. Samsung exec Peter Koo said the new Gear VR will work with all of Samsung’s 2015 flagship smartphones.

Speaking at the Oculus Connect 2 show (via The Verge), Koo revealed the new model, which looks very similar to other models in the range, but has a redesigned trackpad. Samsung says it’ll be 22 per cent lighter and more comfortable to wear.

It won’t even be described as an “innovator edition” either, which suggests Samsung now feels the Gear VR is ready for a full consumer launch.

Also, during the announcement came the news that special versions of
Netflix, Facebook and Twitch were also being released to the Gear VR
store.

Oculus sees the Gear VR as a way to bring virtual reality to “millions of gamers,” while its top end Rift will provide the best experience.The US will get first dibs on the new model, which will ship prior to Black Friday at the end of November.

However, Samsung is promising a global roll out, with the Gear VR probably on the way to the UK before Christmas.

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